A California man has been charged with attempting to assassinate US President Donald Trump in an incident that has sparked a White House security review.<\/p>\n
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was also charged with two firearms offences when he appeared in court in Washington DC on Monday. He did not enter a plea.<\/p>\n
He was carrying a semi-automatic handgun, a pump-action shotgun and three knives as he charged past a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner on Saturday, say prosecutors.<\/p>\n
A Secret Service agent was shot but not seriously wounded during the attack at a hotel. The accused faces life in prison if found guilty.<\/p>\n
Dressed in a blue jumpsuit with a nametag, the suspect appeared calm at Monday\u2019s court appearance in the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n
He was softly spoken as he answered almost every question from the judge with either \u201cyes, your honour\u201d or \u201cno, your honour\u201d.<\/p>\n
He stated his age and said he had a master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n
Three US marshals stood behind him, and one was at his side, while the federal prosecutor handling the case, US Attorney for Washington Jeanine Pirro, looked on.<\/p>\n
During Saturday night\u2019s incident, Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, cabinet members and other White House officials were rushed from the Washington Hilton hotel ballroom after gunfire rang out.<\/p>\n
The suspect allegedly rushed through a security checkpoint one floor above the basement venue.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne Secret Service officer was shot in the chest, but was wearing a ballistic vest that worked,\u201d Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a news conference on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis heroic officer who was hit fired five times at Allen, who was not shot but fell to the ground and was promptly arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blanche said the suspect is believed to have discharged his shotgun at least once.<\/p>\n
It is not clear whether the Secret Service agent was shot by the suspect, or was caught in crossfire from other law enforcement. The agent has been released from the hospital.<\/p>\n
Attempting to assassinate the president carries a potential life sentence.<\/p>\n
The other charges \u2013 transportation of a firearm between states to commit a felony and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence \u2013 both have maximum sentences of 10 years. The suspect is due to appear in court again on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The court heard that the accused crossed multiple state lines in order to try to kill Trump.<\/p>\n
The suspect left his home in the city of Torrance in the Los Angeles area on 21 April, travelling by train to Chicago, said officials.<\/p>\n
On 24 April, he left Chicago, and arrived in Washington where he checked into the Hilton on the eve of the gala.<\/p>\n
The suspect studied at the prestigious California Institute of Technology, and worshipped at the Pasadena United Reformed Church in the Los Angeles area.<\/p>\n
Federal campaign finance records show he donated $25 to a Democratic Party political action committee in support of Kamala Harris for president in 2024.<\/p>\n
According to an affidavit, the accused sent an email to his family shortly before the attack that said, \u201cAdministration officials\u2026 are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary,\u201d he allegedly added.<\/p>\n
He was remanded in custody and prosecutors said more charges could be filed.<\/p>\n
The accused has not been co-operating with investigators, law enforcement sources told the BBC\u2019s US partner CBS.<\/p>\n
As US investigators look into the third alleged assassination attempt against Trump, security officials are reviewing the president\u2019s protection protocols.<\/p>\n
Many have questioned whether the security perimeter at the Washington Hilton was strong enough, why attendees were not asked to show ID at the event, and why the president, vice-president and others in the line of succession were all gathered in one place.<\/p>\n
In Monday\u2019s news conference, the acting attorney general maintained that \u201claw enforcement did not fail\u201d in its job to protect the event.<\/p>\n
He noted that the gunman was one floor away, \u201cwith hundreds of federal agents between him and the President of the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Washington Hilton, where John Hinckley Jr attempted to assassinate then-President Ronald Reagan 45 years ago, said it had followed security instructions from the Secret Service.<\/p>\n
A senior White House official told the BBC that Trump was \u201cstanding by\u201d the leadership of the Secret Service.<\/p>\n
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will convene a meeting this week to \u201cdiscuss protocol and practices for major events\u201d, the official also said.<\/p>\n
Trump has offered assurances that King Charles III will \u201cbe very safe\u201d during his four-day state visit to the US, which began on Monday at the White House.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A California man has been charged with attempting to assassinate US President Donald Trump in an incident that has sparked a White House security review. Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was also charged with two firearms offences when he appeared in court in Washington DC on Monday. He did not enter a plea. He was carrying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}